Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) selected 14 Vice-Presidents for the first half of the new legislative period on Tuesday in a secret vote by paper ballot. Eleven were elected in the first round of voting, and three were elected in the second and final ballot.
Parliament’s Vice-Presidents for the first half of the 10th legislative term are as follows, in order of precedence, based on the order of their election.
1. Sabine VERHEYEN (EPP, DE)
2. Ewa KOPACZ (EPP, PL)
3. Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS (EPP, ES)
4. Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE)
5. Pina PICIERNO (S&D, IT)
6. Victor NEGRESCU (S&D, RO)
7. Martin HOJSÍK (Renew, SK)
8. Christel SCHALDEMOSE (S&D, DK)
9. Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES)
10. Sophie WILMÈS (Renew, BE)
11. Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ (Greens/EFA, RO)
12. Roberts ZĪLE (ECR, LV)
13. Antonella SBERNA (ECR, IT)
14. Younous OMARJEE (The Left, FR)
The candidates of the far-right groups Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations didn’t receive enough votes to be elected.
The election of Parliament’s five Quaestors will take place on Wednesday.
The Bureau of the European Parliament is composed of 14 Vice-Presidents, five Quaestors, and the President. The Bureau is responsible for setting rules to ensure the smooth functioning of the Parliament. Its duties include preparing the Parliament’s initial budget, making decisions on administrative and organisational matters, and handling staff-related issues. Each Vice-President or Quaestor has specific responsibilities within the Bureau, which the President assigns. In addition to their roles in the Bureau, Vice-Presidents can step in for the President, chair plenary debates, and represent the Parliament at ceremonies or events when necessary. Quaestors focus on administrative matters that directly affect MEPs and serve as advisory members of the Bureau. When electing members of the Bureau, political groups aim to ensure that the Vice-Presidents and Quaestors reflect the size of the groups and consider the voting results of the President’s election.
The Parliament’s Rules of Procedure outline the process for electing Bureau members. For the election of the President, nominations can be made by a political group or by a group of MEPs reaching the low threshold (1/20th of MEPs). Vice-Presidents are elected in a single ballot, requiring an absolute majority of votes cast. Suppose there are less than 14 successful candidates; a second vote is held for the remaining seats under the same conditions. If a third vote is necessary, a simple majority is sufficient. Vice-Presidents are prioritised based on the order in which they are elected and, in case of a tie, by age. If a candidate is voted by acclamation, a vote by secret ballot determines the order of precedence. The election of Quaestors follows the same procedure as the election of Vice-Presidents.
